China’s coast guard announced on Saturday that it had taken action against Philippine vessels in South China Sea waters, while the Philippines condemned the actions, including the use of water cannons, as “irresponsible and provocative,” Reuters and News.ro reported. .

China’s actions resulted in “significant damage” and injuries to personnel on a civilian resupply ship, the Philippine task force in the South China Sea said in a statement.

According to the China Coast Guard, the incident occurred in the waters of the Second Thomas Shoal and the Spratly Islands. The area is home to a small number of Filipino soldiers stationed on a warship that Manila docked there in 1999 to support its claim to sovereignty.

China claims almost all of the South China Sea, including the Second Thomas Shoal, which is in the Philippines’ 200-mile exclusive economic zone, and has deployed ships to patrol the disputed atoll. The decision of the Permanent Chamber of the Arbitration Court from 2016 established that China’s claims have no legal basis.

According to a statement from the Philippine military, the civilian vessel was escorted by two Philippine Navy ships and two Philippine Coast Guard ships.

A Philippine coast guard ship “interfered” with and was “surrounded” by a Chinese coast guard vessel and two Chinese maritime police ships, the Philippine coast guard said in a separate statement.

Isolated ship

As a result, the Philippine Coast Guard ship was “isolated” from the supply vessel due to the “irresponsible and provocative behavior” of the Chinese navy.

Gang Yu, a spokesman for China’s coast guard, said the Philippines broke its promise to remove the sunken ship and sent two coast guard ships and a supply vessel to the Second Thomas Shoal 18 days after the last round of supplies.

China did not say who promised the removal or when the promise was made. The Department of Defense of the Philippines, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the military leadership have repeatedly stated that there was no such promise.

Gan said the Philippines committed violations on Saturday and caused trouble and deliberately undermined peace and stability in the South China Sea.

Gan added that the Philippine ships ignored China’s repeated warnings and route control and stormed. He said the China Coast Guard enforces regulations in accordance with laws and resolves issues in a reasonable, legal and professional manner.

“If the Philippines continues to act unilaterally, China will continue to take decisive measures to protect its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.

“Any consequences caused by this will be borne by the Philippines.”

But the Philippines will not prevent “veiled threats or hostility” from exercising its legal rights to its maritime areas, including the Second Thomas Shoal, its task force said.